Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr out of the Asian Champions League via penalties

Cristiano Ronaldo was the only player of Al Nassr’s four penalty takers to score as they lost 3–1.

Riyadh: It was a huge sadness for Cristiano Ronaldo and his fans when Al Nassr were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League on Monday. UAE’s Al Ain won the match on penalties. It was disappointing to see Alex Telles, Marcelo Brozovic and Otavio fail to convert their penalties in the shootout, with Cristiano Ronaldo the only player of Al Nassr’s four penalty takers to score as they lost 3–1. Ronaldo scored a penalty with just two minutes left in extra time, after Abdulrahman Abdullah Ghareeb and Telles had both scored, along with an own goal from Al Ain goalkeeper Khalid Eisa.

Soufiane Rahimi, the only scorer from the first leg, was much more clinical on Monday. The Moroccan scored twice in the first half to give former champions Al-Ain a 3-0 lead.

Just before half-time, however, Abdulrahman Ghareeb pulled one back for Al-Nassr, and shortly afterwards an own goal from Eisa made it 2-2 that evening.

With 18 minutes of normal time remaining, former Manchester United defender Alex Telles scored for Al-Nassr to force the match into extra time.

Al-Ain restored the lead through Sultan Al Shamsi, but with 118 minutes on the clock Ronaldo scored from the spot to level the score at 4-4. In the shootout, Ronaldo found the net, while Marcelo Brozovic, Telles and Otavio all failed.

Al-Ain will face more Saudi Arabian opposition in the last four. Four-time champion Al-Hilal has a 2-0 lead against two-time champion Al-Ittihad in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.

In the eastern zone, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Ulsan HD meet on Tuesday. The South Korean teams are tied 1-1 after the first leg. Yokohama F.Marinios from Japan has a 2-1 lead over China’s Shandong Taishan in the other quarter.

(With input from the agency)